Forced Attraction
by megpieeee
Summary: {Nanowrimo project} To protect her girls from loveless marriages, Tsunade comes up with a plan that forgoes all morals. She just hopes it works. Kakahina, Gaisaku, Iruten, Asuino
1. Chapter 1

**I've done Nanowrimo for three years now but never won it. I've been writing fanfiction for infinitely longer and have never completed a fic. Decided to mash both these failures into one and bring you this mess of an idea. I've seen this idea several times where the Hokage forces characters into marriages so this is my spin on it. There will be a chapter every day or every other day if all goes well. Enjoy.**

When Kakashi made it to the Hokage's office, Iruka, Gai and Asuma were already there looking a mix of bored and intrigued. He wondered if they've been waiting for him but that wouldn't have made sense He hadn't been on a mission with any of them as of late and he was sure Gai's last challenge hadn't destroyed anything.

"Yo." He saunters into the room and gives a two finger wave.

"Kakashi, my eternal rival! You are much too cool!" Gai replied, sending him a thumbs up in response. Though it lacked it's usual volumn, the enthusiasm was there but he was quieter than usual. Kakashi sighed, he was about to get news he didn't like.

"Since you're finally here, Kakashi, we can finally get down to business." Tsunade motioned for him to join his colleagues in the middle of the room in front of her desk. She couldn't believe she was doing this but the council were taking dramatic measures to build up support among the other countries and she was getting less and less say in it all. So she was taking just as dramatic measures to keep as much control as she can. "In attempt to make more allies, the council is thinking of taking the dramatic step of marrying off our younger female shinobi to officials in those countries. Four in particular."

"But they can't if the girls are in relationships and that's where you four come in. I need you to court these girls and inevitably form a romantic relationship so to avoid their forced marriages."

Asuma blew out some smoke and narrowed his eyes at the Hokage. "So we're forced into marriages? I don't see how that is fixing anything."

"You've got it wrong, Asuma. I'm not forcing you to marry them. Hell, you can break up after the council drops their plan if you'd like. You just need to date and make it very clear that there are romantic intentions and soon to be an actual relationship." She had admitted to Shizune earlier that it was a faulty plan and there was no guarantee the council would respect the relationships but it was a try. One the girls deserved.

"Why us?" Kakashi asked, crossing his arms lazily across his chest. He wasn't seeing where he or anyone else really fit into the plot.

"Because who better then men they trust?" Tsunade said, swallowing down guilt that threatened to bubble up. It was the best plan, she had tried telling them no but of course they wouldn't listen. She was doing what she could.

Iruka raised an eyebrow. "Who they trust? Hokage-sama, who are you talking about?"

Tsunade shook her head, pushing a file towards the edge of her desk. "Sign it first. Agree to do it and then I will tell you."

"Hokage-sama, I mean no disrespect but how can you expect us to agree to a romantic relationships with people we are unsure of who they are?" Gai put forth, doing his best to be diplomatic about it.

She knew she had to tell them, it was better to say it before they signed but what if they didn't? Was she comfortable with taking the chance? No, she wasn't. It wasn't anything against them but Tsunade saw no other ways around the situation. They either agreed or didn't. She didn't have time for morals.

"Just sign it. You'll know everything after you sign it." She wasn't being fair to them and she was aware of it but it had to be done.

"Lady Tsunade, I understand that you need this agreed to but this isn't a mission. This is our personal lives. I'd like to think we have some control over it." Kakashi said, dropping his arms to his sides to appear less defensive.

She wanted to disagree, give them an ultimatum about take it or leave it but Kakashi was right. Gai was right. All of them were right. They did have to know because it was their personal lives and maybe she was blowing it out of proportion – her scheme just had to stay out of the ears of the council and other villagers. Tsunade was just afraid that if they said no then there would be 4 extra people she'd have to keep tabs on to make sure they didn't open their mouths.

They were _her_ shinobi though, she trusted them with her own life. She knew each one of them well enough to trust them to do this for her. She was going to have to trust that if they said no they would keep their mouths shut. It was only fair.

Tsunade nodded and pulled the file back to her, the men in front of her visibly slouched with relief.

"Officials from a few other countries have taken a liking to a few of your students. In particular, Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Tenten." She held up a hand before anyone could shout something out. "To strength ties the council is discussing arranging marriages between those officials and the girls without their consent. The longer this discussion goes on the less control I have over the situation. I know that this had happened before when I was younger and the council respected the relationships any of the girls they wanted to marry off were in."

They were silent for a moment, letting it sink in and really thinking through what she had just told them. Iruka decided it was all just madness, it wasn't right for the council to invade the girls' life like that. He knew they had all trained hard to get to where they were now and he doubted they would be allowed to keep their ninja rank when married to officials.

"We've known these girls since they were 13. Iruka has known then since they were younger than that. I really don't think this is proper." Gai announced, keeping his voice under control. There was nothing to be excited about in this situation. "Why not get one of their teammates to do it? Wouldn't that be more acceptable?"

"Maybe more acceptable but the council will look at it like puppy love. No two sixteen/seventeen year olds are going to grow up and get married to each other. But see those girls with men in who are pretty far into their shinobi lives who have survived this long – you'd assume they'd get married due to their male counter part being so much older than them." Tsunade reasoned.

"So instead of it looking acceptable, you'd rather it look like we were grooming them to become our brides instead?" Asume bit out, narrowing his eyes at the older woman. There were just some parts of the plan that just didn't make any sense. It was all a little nonsensical.

"Damnit Asuma, you tell me what you'd rather. They get married off to strangers in strange lands or to men they know and trust?" It was a low ball, sure, but Tsunade was getting too close to agreeing with them to comfortably keep this thing going. She was doing her best.

The out burst got them quiet and she knew she had then at lease a little. As their sensei's, they wanted nothing more than to protect the girls. It was their job after all and they had been doing it for long that it was only natural. Tsunade had been banking on this feeling. Hopefully it was strong enough.

"I'll even give you a few days to test the waters, I'll come up with some bullshit mission for the eight of you so that you can get a feel for it all..." She locked eyes with each one. "Don't say no just yet. Please." Tsunade couldn't believe she was saying please. What lengths wouldn't she go through to protect her girls?

Iruka sighed but nodded, gaining surprised looks from everyone in the room. "It's not a perfect plan, it could fall through anytime and there is no positive if the girls would even enter a relationship with any of us. But, and I may regret this later, this is the only opinion the girls seem to have and I don't think I can stand by and allow them to give up everything they've worked so hard to achieve."

"I second that." Gai commented, offering up a half smile to shake off his uneasy feelings about the situation. "As long as the girls have complete control. They have their right to not enter into a relationship or even continue one. It's in their hands."

"Thank you. Asuma? Kakashi?" Half wasn't bad – hell, half was more than what she originally thought she was going to get. It was 2 more people than planned.

Kakashi exchanged a look with Asuma. He had been right all along, he wasn't going to like any of this meeting. And he didn't but he understood it. He got what Tsunade was trying to do, giving the girls a big enough chance at not being married off and what was a few months of schmoozing one of them onto his side of the world to him? A little more effort than usual? He gave a stiff nod and Asuma followed.

"Excellent. Thank you. I just have one condition. No one, not even the girls, know the motivation behind this. No one can know about the marriage discussions or our work to hold them off. No one. Sign the file if you can agree to that." It was the most important part of this assignment after all. The secret was key.

They each signed without further prompting and Tsunade let out a sigh of relief. The hard part was over, now it was deciding on what kind of mission she could possibly send the eight of them on that made sense.

"Who have you paired us up with?" Asuma asked, flicking it butt out the window and walking back to his spot. He didn't assume she was nice enough to allow them to pair themselves up accordingly.

Tsunade shook her head and dropped the signed file into her desk with a soft thud. "That's up for you all to decide. Just use some digression – you know the girls better than most, you know who is better suited for who. Sometime tomorrow I'll call everyone in for a mission debriefing or something of the sort. The rest of the night is yours."

 **Words – 1,795**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed and reviewed. A super special thanks to the guest who left my first hate review – you are the true MVP. This is a random stopping point but whatever. I don't really write in chapters, it's more of a continuous thing so I just choose random places that look good. Also I'm not doing a true edit until after November so there of course will be mistakes, just ignore them.**

They ended up at the bar after that, in the farthest corner booth with a beer each and a few snacks in the center. It had been a roller coaster from start to finish, one that left them all feeling slightly emotional winded and mentally drained. But they didn't have the time it seemed to just get drunk.

"Sakura," Kakashi began, tapping a finger absently against the glass of his beer. "is quite jaded in the love department." They all know she's spend the larger part of her life pinning after Sasuke but he isn't quite sure if they even know to what extent she's fucked up. He's tried to help his student to the best of his abilities but it's hard to help someone who doesn't even know they're broken.

"Didn't Ino pine after him as well?" Gai asked, taking a swig of the cheap beer and chasing it with a few salty fried snacks. He was under the impression that the remaining Uchiha had been quite the lady killer among his classmates.

Asuma nodded. "Yeah... but it was mostly just charged by beating Sakura at something. Their rivalship knows no bounds."

"Sakura was so invested in Sasuke for such a long time, it's my understanding that she still is, that it would be difficult for her to accept someone else's advances. She's dedicated her life to loving him that she may not be able to move on." Iruka said, leaning forward with his chin in his hands.

"I'm sure she could, given the right emotional motivation but it'll be a difficult task. I know she won't accept any advances of mine, she knows me too well to assume it's good intentions." Kakashi stated. Sakura had known him far too long to trust any romantic advances on his part. She'd assume it was some type of training exercise or something perverted.

"Ino doesn't trust men who aren't in her team or immediate circle. Who ever gets her is going to have a hard time breaking down her walls." It was her natural reflex to shield herself from strangers, regardless of how many missions she's been on with any of them unless they knew her favorite flower and the exact temperature of her bath water it was a moot point. She didn't break down her walls for just anyone and Asuma knew it would take them at least a year to learn at least one favorite flower.

She had three.

Iruka nodded and popped a snack into his mouth, not chewing it just then. "If we're making sure to keep them emotionally comfortable we need to keep them in their comfort zones or at least as close to one as we can get." He swallowed the soggy snack. "Maybe you should take Ino, Asuma. It may seem weird at first but she's not going to trust Kakashi without a hassle."

Asuma took a long drag from the cigarette in between his lips. He knew the moment he opened his mouth that would be the case. He wasn't surprised but that didn't mean he liked it. But this was about the best interest of the girls, and while the best interest would be to leave it alone and let them fight their own battle against the council, Asuma had already signed Tsunade's file. He couldn't back out now.

"It's not ideal – Inoichi will have my head if it goes farther than showing her romantic interest. My wallet is going to suffer." Not that is wasn't already crying from the last mission his team had gone on. Honestly he was much too nice about his spending money on them.

He blew out some smoke.

"But you're right. Her safe zone is me so it's the only plausible option."

"Tenten will be the easiest. She's very laid back and only needs to be allowed to be her own person." Gai exclaimed, pushing his empty bottle away and waving the bar tender over for another one. He wasn't usually a drinker but he could make an exception for this.

"I vote Iruka for this one." Asuma piped up.

"What? Why?"

Asuma rolled his eyes. "Because you're the best fit. She'd certainly feel threatened by Kakashi's skill and we all know she would never agree to even a walk down the street with Gai without training reasons."

Iruka wanted to fight it but there was no fighting that argument. It made the most sense. It also made him feel marginally better that she was the eldest among the girls. Though it was still all sorts of morally wrong.

"Yeah. Alright." He finally took a sip of his beer. "That means Gai has to woo Sakura."

"I suppose so." Gai mumbled. He had been hoping to avoid that, he didn't want Lee to feel poorly over his sensei forming a relationship with his crush but he supposed there was no way around. "Poor Lee. His youth will dwindle when the news hits him. How tragic."

"So that leaves Hinata to me. Which is probably an incredibly bad idea." Kakashi could only imagine the Hyuga's response to him courting the head's elder daughter. He was seriously going to have to sleep with one eye open until everything settled. Or maybe he would luck out – there was no telling in this situation.

They drank their remaining beer in silence, mulling over the information and situation that had been pushed onto them in only a few short hours. Kakashi hoped it wouldn't turn out to be all in vain, Sakura had gone through enough in the love department that he'd really hate to see her forced into a loveless marriage. Though he was positive the council would have to use every trick in the book if they ever wanted to force her into such a thing anyway.

"Ino, this is a bad idea." A feminine voice complained from the entrance, snapping the group from their thoughts. Speak of the devil and he (in this case she) shall appear apparently.

Sakura and Ino stood at the entrance to the bar, slinky dresses and heels on. Asuma had seen Ino's dress before, it was hard to forget something so short and backless. He was still as uncomfortable with it as he was before, unluckily now he had to pretend he wasn't. He had to be at least fake turned on by it. Sadly Ino could smell a fake flirt a mile away – her best skill yet.

Asuma's eyes widened as Gai stood up and started towards them, a beer in his hand.

Gai maneuvered easily around the dancing bodies, moving smoothly towards the girls. He had consumed a few beers and the feeling of fearlessness had sunk in once he had set eyes on his goal. Lee would be upset (rightfully so) and so would Naruto but he was sure in the end if they found out the truth both would be happy with the justification of his actions. He was protecting her from the evils of men.

Or something noble like that.

"Gai-sensei?" Her lips had been painted a nice opaque red with an iridescent glitter over it, juvenile but also vixen-esque. Ino had probably done her make-up. The dress was black with a dangerously low neckline and stopped in the middle of her thighs. She looked nice. "I didn't know you would be here."

"A bit of a after mission treat." He offered, smiling down at her smaller form.

"That's..." She looked off to the side where Ino had disappeared without her permission. "nice."

Gai agreed and looked back over his shoulder where his friends still sat, staring at him. The sooner he formed a familiar bond with the chunin the easier a relationship would be to make. He looked back over at Sakura and held out a hand. "Come dance."

"What? No! I can't dance." Sakura exclaimed, keeping her arms tightly at her side. Damn Ino for dragging her out and then disappearing on her. His hand was still out when she looked seconds later. "I really can't sensei."

"Nonsense! Everyone can dance." That was a blatant lie. He couldn't dance well but neither could anyone else in the building. It's not like they would stand out.

Gai watched as she opened and closed her mouth, looking for an excuse as to why she really couldn't that wasn't offensive. He had heard them all before and no longer felt any offense to them. So he waited and finally her shoulders slumped and she followed him out onto the dance floor with one last look around for Ino.

Asuma watched as Gai danced freely and Sakura swung her hips slightly. He wondered if the green beast had come off a little too strong for the younger girl's taste but she was there, moving in front of him which was more than he had assumed would happen.

"Well that was unexpected." Kakashi said, nudging the empty beer bottle away from him. "Are you going to go visit Ino before she gets shit faced?"

Asuma glared at Kakashi and shook his head. No, he wasn't about to slide up to the bar and buy her a drink. He was trying to keep it ethical. He wasn't Gai, he couldn't just swallow a few beers and ask a student to dance. He certainly couldn't do that with Ino who would take it wrong and set into motion the thing that was necessary but unwanted. "No."

Iruka leaned forward and looked for Ino in the crowd, spotting her at the bar flirting with someone who looked very similar. "Looks like Genma beat you to it anyway."

He swiveled quickly to the side, staring out over the bar. There she was, tiny red backless dress and glittering gold bangles lining her left arm. Someone on a mission once described her as a succubus, naturally reeling in men to chew up and spit out. And there she was, proving that stranger right and leading Genma on. Asuma could feel a bit of pride for her as Genma fell into her well laid trap. She certainly was in her element.

After the song ended, Gai and Sakura went their separate ways. It had taken her some time but Gai was happy to see that she was able to loosen up some and that she was comfortable enough with him to do so. It had given him some insight as to how to approach her. Use caution but don't falter, blindly believe she could do anything and she was always looking to prove herself.

 **Words – 1,780**

 **Total – 3, 539**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed – and a special thank you to that one guest who's comments I had to delete due to vulgarity. The rest of your are perfect though. This isn't my favorite chapter, the interactions seem a bit awkward but it'll do. Hopefully tomorrow's chapter is going to be better since it is the real start to the actual meat of the story. But – we finally have the introduction of Tenten and Hinata. Not particularly memorable but we've got more of them coming. Promise.**

Sakura watched as Gai-sensei walked away, staring at his back as he retreated. She hadn't expected him to ask her to dance but he had and, as much as she didn't want to at the time, she was happy she had. It was a strange interaction but there had been a good space in between them it had been fun – it helped it had been her favorite song playing.

"What the hell was that?" Ino demanded from behind her, a sleek eyebrow raised and her arms crossed under her chest.

"What was what?" Sakura asked.

Ino rolled her eyes and turned back to Genma, apparently not in the mood to play that game with her. Sakura knew exactly what Ino was talking about but she didn't understand her reaction, it wasn't like she had kissed him. They hadn't even touched.

What had confused Sakura since last week was Ino fascination with Genma. Sure he was attractive, there wasn't much doubt to that but she was positive Ino had never had a conversation with him before. Hell, they had never even been on a missions together. But Sakura knew Ino liked a challenge and what better challenge than getting a jonin to fuck you?

She couldn't stop herself from looking over to where Gai-sensei had disappeared to. He wasn't looking her way but Asuma was and staring at Ino's back. He was probably trying to decide if it was alright to interfere with his student's love life. Sakura wished he would. She loved Ino like a sister and had been convinced the blonde wasn't truly prepared for a relationship with anyone let alone an older man.

"Ino, let's go. I have a shift at the hospital in the morning." Sakura tried, nudging her friend's shoulder lightly.

Ino shook off her hand and glared. "Go dance with Gai-sensei again, billboard brow." She laughed. "Probably the most female interaction he's ever had."

Sakura glared at her friend's back and had to hold herself back when Genma joined in. Sure Gai was eccentric and loud and often referred to as a spandex wearing freak but at least he was nice and well meaning. Could someone say that much for Ino's conquest? Probably not.

Deciding it wouldn't do to make a scene in the middle of the bar, Sakura looked back over at where Gai sat with Asuma, Iruka and Kakashi. She had never seen them all out with each other. Or maybe she had but she had never realized it. It made sense they would be friends and go out together, they were all essentially the same age. What caught her eye wasn't Gai looking back at her but Asuma finally leaving the booth and stalking towards her and Ino.

Poor Genma.

It wasn't that Asuma didn't trust Genma to treat Ino well and it really didn't have anything to do with the contract that Asuma found himself moving towards his student. It was really just natural instinct to keep her safe. And safe in this situation meant keeping her from Genma who sure was pleasant but he had been with almost all the kunoichi in the village.

He bypassed Sakura in a breeze, eyes set on the target. He wondered just how many times he would have to step in and assert his dominance once he successful created a relationship with Ino. She naturally flirted with anyone with a pulse and penis – it was just her thing. Would there ever been true feelings from his side? Would she hate him when the truth was revealed? He pushed his cigarette to the other side of his mouth. He found he didn't want to find the answer to any of those questions.

Not yet anyway.

"Scram, Shiranui." Asuma grunted, glaring down at the man seated.

"Sensei!" Ino growled, slapping his hand as it came down like a barrier between her and Genma. She slapped him again when she realized Genma was actually doing it. "What the hell, sensei?"

He didn't turn to her until he made sure Genma had found his new target across the bar, a little thing with red hair.

Asuma turned back to Ino, unbothered by her glare and defensive posture.

"You realize he's slept with half the village, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Everyone knows that."

"He's too old for you." So was he.

"I'll decide who is too old for me and who isn't, thank you." She flipped a well styled lock over her shoulder. "Don't you have something better to do than be a bother?"

Asuma blew out some smoke and crushed the remains of his cigarette in the ashtray on the bar. "Would I be bothering you if I did?"

Ino's eyes narrowed further. "Then at least buy me a drink."

"I'm not buying you booze."

"Yes you are." Ino waved the bartender over with the ease that only attractive young females seemed to have. "You ruined my date so you owe me."

"I don't owe you anything." But he allowed her to order a drink anyway and he watched over her shoulder as Sakura left, rolling her eyes at her blonde companion.

Ino didn't move a well groomed eyebrow even a centimeter as she caught Sakura leaving out of the corner of her eye. They were best friends but Ino never really _got_ her. Sakura was hot and cold all at the same time and Ino was never really sure what to do about that besides ignore it. She decided to not wave good bye and instead order the most expensive drink she could see on the menu.

Asuma bought the next eight rounds, not moving a inch when his group said good bye and left the way Sakura did. Through her drunken gaze Ino grabs onto him and hiked herself to her feet, teetering dangerously on her new heels.

"What are you doing?" He asked, rising with her and keeping her arm in his grasp. He had consumed significantly less alcoholic beverages than she and even if he had, Asuma was much better at hold it.

"What's it look like?" Even drunk, Ino knew exactly what she wanted. "I'm going to dance."

The dance floor was exceptionally empty, Kotestu and Izumo were the only ones left, drunk and giddy and dancing sloppily to the tune. Asuma doesn't allow Ino to drag him to the floor and also doesn't allow her to go either, instead he held her still as he paid for their expensive drinks and started steering her towards the exit.

"No! I don't wanna go!"

Asuma had dealt with a drunk Ino before and he knows to promise her a hearty breakfast in the morning on him and a day or two off training to quiet her. As always it did the trick and she tucked herself under his arm and started her usual drunked blather about this and that, mostly about Genma and how it was mostly because she saw him flirt with Tenten last week so why not her? Asuma thinks that's a tragic reason to flirt with someone but smartly kept his mouth shut.

The Yamanaka house is a little thing down the road from their shop, flowers blood all around it and up it. He knew Inoichi and his wife wouldn't be there, missions had them both out of the village for the past two day and until Saturday. He stopped on the porch.

"Do you need help or do you have it from here?" He knows he's treating her like a child and tomorrow when she's hungover but sober she'll find him solely to tell him off for it too.

She didn't dignify it with a response and instead made her way inside, slamming the door tightly behind her. He supposed that answered his question. Unlike Gai, Asuma couldn't just waltz up and ask for a dance, with Ino that wasn't fathomable but what he could do was what he had always been doing – just upping the anty with it. He hoped 8 rounds was up enough.

It was early, 8am and quiet, when Iruka's planning for the next year was interrupted by ANBU. He gingerly took the scroll and walked with it to his kitchen, setting it on the table as he set to work making a cup of coffee. He already knew what it was, the mission statement Tsunade had promised to make up. He had honestly been hoping she would have at least waited a few days.

He expected a simple D-rank, nothing taxing but involved a lot of down time. Instead, in big bold red letters on top, Iruka found himself in a state of awe. Shinobi rarely got vacation, let alone paid vacation, and the whole concept of it was almost a laughable myth. He couldn't help but like the idea of paid vacation in the Land of Honey – even though it was meant as a week of uncomfortable, unethical flirting.

"Meeting time, 10:30..." Iruka checked the clock hanging on the wall and grunted. "Guess I better get packing."

He packed his usual day off attire, deciding it was the best he could come up with. He had never been given an extended vacation that wasn't spent in the hospital so he didn't own "vacation clothing." Iruka supposed his he needed anything special he could buy it there, a little pointless spending wouldn't be too bad since he was sure the extra pay was meant for him to woo Tenten with.

Iruka thought back to Tenten's academy days, her laid back demeanor and her need to prove herself as a capable kunoichi in her own right. He hadn't had any problem's with her – she had been very focused through school and had continued to be through the rest of her ninja career up until that point. He knew that Gai was proud of her and Iruka was proud of all his students which included Tenten.

When sufficiently packed and another look at the clock, he set to work cleaning up any mess that couldn't be left for a week. Dishes were washed and put into the cupboard, leftover were thrown out and the garbage was taken out. The clean clothes could be taken care of when he got back and the dirt ones could be washed when he brought his vacation clothes back. Every chore was planned accordingly – sometimes he found himself being a bit too neurotic for his own good.

He was happily on time getting to the village gate where Hinata, Gai and Tenten where already there, conversing among each other at decent volume. Gai was surprisingly quiet for 10am, but he had been quiet since yesterday and Iruka was sure he would be back to his usual loud self in a few hours.

"Iruka!" Gai shouted, waving at Iruka as he walked towards them.

Maybe he didn't need a few hours.

"Hello, Gai." He offered his friend a smile and turned towards the younger females. "Hello, girls. Excited for some time off?"

Hinata offered him a timid smile. "Hello Iruka-sensei."

"Excited? I'm ecstatic. I can't wait to get to where we're staying and just die." Tenten laughed.

Iruka went to reply, give a silly comment about how he'd join in that fantastic death or something stupid and cheesy like that but was just short by loud and intense bickering behind him. He craned his neck around the see the the last of the girls and Asuma – he wished he was surprised by the lack of Kakashi but he had learned not to be early on.

"You're the one who left me in the bar!"

"Oh my god, Pig, shut up! Asuma-sensei was with you. You weren't alone!"

Iruka laughed and scratched the back of his head, Sakura and Ino certainly hadn't changed.

"Asuma-sensei doesn't count!" Ino huffed, glaring as hard as she could at the pink haired girl beside her. She paid no mind to the others at the gate, instead choosing to win her argument against Sakura.

As the girls continued their fight and Tenten and Hinata moved in to try and settle it, Asuma placed himself beside Iruka and Gai with a sigh. "You'd think that hang over would do something about her yelling."

"Yeah... I don't think anything could stop Ino and Sakura from fighting."

 **Words – 2,077**

 **Total – 5,618**


	4. Chapter 4

**So I almost decided to forgo this chapter and just write a giant one tomorrow because I am swamped with two last minute papers and lots of Japanese homework. BUT I DECIDED TO EFF THAT IDEA. Very quickly I'll address the issue of Ino – I love Ino so this story doesn't have Ino bashing or flaming. She acted that way in her introduction because Sakura was ruining her party time, Asuma threw off her flirting game and then she's hungover. I don't know if any of you have suffered through a friend like that but they aren't particularly friendly, haha, but have no fears because she's good in this chapter. FINALLY SOME IRUTEN AND KAKAHINA, RIGHT?**

 **Also a super special thank you for the constant reviews and being friendly, it's great. You all are fantastic and I adore you for dealing with my unedited crackships. Let's play a game called "how many times can Meg use the words "assume" and "suppose" and how often will she change between present and past tense?" The struggle is real guys.**

 **This is a tragically short chapter but I just don't have the time to continue it tonight. Tomorrow's will hopefully make up for it.**

Their argument simmered down as quickly as it had started up, an apology from both parties delegated by ever the peace keeper, Hinata laid the problem to rest pretty quickly. Of course it helped that the yelling was making Ino's voice horse and she did not see the appeal in being sick on her surprise vacation. She wondered if anyone else was confused about the group Tsunade had decided on but Ino didn't voice it. That all just meant she could bank in on Asuma-sensei buying her that promised breakfast tomorrow.

"Of course Kakashi-sensei is late! He doesn't even show up for vacation on time!" Sakura growled, glaring towards the way she knew his apartment was located. Though she supposed it would be weirder if he had shown up on time.

"I'm sure he has a reason, Sakura-chan." Hinata tried, ringing her hands.

Sakura shook her head, "Spare him your misplaced faith. He's late to be late." She wondered if that was too harsh. Hinata replied with a short light hearted laugh that answered that – not harsh at all. Thankfully because they had enough negativity from a hungover Ino.

Knowing it was going to be a while, Iruka found himself a spot to sit that was meticulously chosen for it's proximity to Tenten. She seemed to be wide away, chatting away with a slowly more pleasant Ino. At his angle to her he could make out the gentle planes of her face, the way her lips sat comfortably in a smile with her legs crossed and her body leaning forward. She spoke with sharp enunciation of the words, making sure to not slur them. He wondered if that was something she had picked up from years of being teamed up with Neji.

"Sensei?" She asked, turning her attention to him as if feeling his eyes studying her. She probably had. "Do you suppose there's an actual reason for this vacation? It seems so random."

He forced himself to look away then and swallow down the bile knowing he'd lie to her. And not only about that but also about his feelings for her – the emotional manipulation wasn't fair to her. None of it would be. So Iruka looked back and grinned, coming up with some half assed reply that this stuff sometimes happened. It was all he could offer her.

"But," Ino inturrupted. "Why this montley crew? Doesn't it seem like it should be teams going together?"

"You're paranoid, Ino." Tenten laughs. It's a nice sound that Iruka hopes he hears after she finds out the truth. Because there isn't a doubt in his mind that she will – they all will, they're smart girls.

"Maybe lady Hokage just wanted to mix it up." Iruka offered. He didn't enjoy that he was starting the lying so early on. The whole situation really just wasn't fair to them in the slightest.

"Am I late?"

Iruka turned his attention to their last member and nodded, though it was overshadowed by Sakura's immediate scolding. He definitely understood now why Kakashi couldn't have tried forming a romantic relationship with her. That wouldn't have been a peaceful situation at all.

"Sakura-chan, don't you think you're being a little harsh? We aren't on a schedule." Hinata said, trying to stop Sakura from berating Kakashi too much. She really didn't see the harm in his lateness, they were going on vacation not a mission. They didn't have time to keep.

"Exactly!" Sakura shouted, glaring at her grey haired sensei. "There isn't a real schedule and he's still late."

Kakashi sighed and ignored his student's bicker, instead focusing on the young Hyuga. "Thanks for trying, but I can't escape her rage." Neither could the rest of his team for that matter. Her yelling at him was better that her pummeling him into a Sakura-made crater. Kami knew they didn't need more of those in the village.

Hinata offered him a blush in response. Kakashi wondered if she'd blush every time he spoke her this week. Probably, it seemed like the girls natural state was blushing.

"Let's get going. Land of Honey is a days worth of a trip and we can make that shorter if we get moving." Asuma announced, all following with the men in the front and the girls congregating behind them. Their tittering laughter floated around them lightly.

"Ino already assumes that Tsunade-sama has a ulterior motive as to sending all of us on a mission together." Iruka informed them, keeping his voice hush as to not alert their partners.

Kakashi nodded. "It's not the most inconspicuous move – sending us all at the same time."

"Would it had been less inconspicuous if we had been put on individual missions with them?" Gai asked, hiking his pack higher up on his shoulders. "Maybe on Asuma and Ino's end but it'd be quite strange to send Kakashi and Hinata on a mission without some elaborate back story."

Iruka nodded. "Maybe she believes they will be more comfortable on vacation together." He really didn't know what Tsunade had been thinking as of late. The whole situation was insanely nonsensical and immoral.

"What are you old men gossiping about?" Ino called up, sleek eyebrows raised and mouth quirked up.

Asuma looked over his shoulder and smirked around his cigarette. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"Well duh!" She's laughing though so he knows she's in a much better mood which is nice because no one likes dealing with a grumpy Ino on a trip.

Knowing they had been caught "gossiping" which was a surprisingly accurate term, the men dispersed and and fell more into line with the girls, catching the tail end of their conversations – tid bits about Neji being pretenious and taking _way_ too long to comb his hair and comments on Shikamaru forgetting about training because he was too busy napping.

"Are you looking forward to a week of vacation, Hinata?" Kakashi asked, falling into step with her.

She stares up at him with wide white eyes and nods. "You?"

"Absolutely." He followed that up with a short laugh and a smile she couldn't see but she returned it so Kakashi considered it a success. Truthfully he wasn't really looking forward to the "wooing" process, it had to be expensive to woo the ex Hyuga heiress and Kakashi couldn't even recall having to woo someone before.

"Have you ever been to the Land of Honey, sensei?" Hinata asked, doing her best to continue the conversation to avoid an awkward lul.

"On a few missions, yes." Kakashi can vividly recall a simple one from his chuunin days. "It's been a while though."

Hinata nods and thinks to ask about it, it's one of the few places she had never been to, even for clan business and she's exited. Neji had told her it was lovely this time of year, it was a mostly rural place so the scenery offered the most beautiful view. "I haven't."

Kakashi blinked, surprised for a moment. But then he remembers that it's such a small place and rarely ever needs shinobi intervention.

"I'm sure you'll like it."

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 **Total – 6,822**


	5. Chapter 5

**I have no real finishing plan for this fic nor an outline so please forgive all plot holes and what have you – it's not particularly thought out. This also makes it so I'm constantly skipping over chunks of time. Oh well. IT'S SO SLOWLY PACED AND KILLING ME AND I'M DOING MY BEST NOT TO SKIP OVER GIANT NECESSARY CHUNKS OF TIME. There was no reason for caps.**

 **Gangnam Style X3 – The wooing will commence at some point. Soon. I promise. I'm just dying of heat and feeling too delusional to write it into this chapter. Haha – the heat is getting to my head.**

 **FreakKitty13 – No, all your criticism is fine, it was a fair call of my introductory characterization of her. And my writing would be so much better if I had time for editing but thank you! You're too sweet.**

 **Hyo – I feel you! They are heart and soul but I do have a very special love for GaiSaku and AsuIno as well. School is going good, thanks – I'm just the queen of procrastination.**

 **Also, it's so fucking hot in my dorm (82F) and it's been making me sick all day and this is a shitty chapter because I'm dying of heat in the beginning of November. Someone kill me.**

They continued on their way in a nice lull of conversation. The topic touched on a little of everything, plans for the week, what sounded good for lunch and other odd and ends. Gai and Ino did a lot of the talking, both being particularly good at keeping any conversation going. Gai of course did his best to include Sakura in on each topic no matter how mundane and she always had something to say.

The trip took more than the usual 24 hours, 22 and 38 minutes to be exact but that was if no one counted the 2 hour lunch break that they took 4 hours into the trip and 8 hours of sleep. They had stopped at small village in a nondescript part of the world, taking up a booth for an hour too long at a restaurant at the edge of the village. It was an specialty udon place, Tenten's pick since it seemed no one was sure at the time what they were actually hungry for. Or they did know but they were inclined to let the girls decide instead.

They got to their destination a little after 9am the next day, tired and hungry but greeted at the gates by an older woman with a softly wrinkled face in a yellow kimono with a small dog at her feet. She introduced herself to their group as Miss Kaede and Tsunade had hired her to make sure everything went as planned.

"Now, let me show you to the house so you can settle in." Miss Kaede announced, turning on her heel and starting down into village. She walked fast with her back completely straight and staring right ahead without wavering.

The house they were shown to was right off the main drag, white with a well groomed garden and a large pond in the back. Three floors with a porch wrapping around the outside of each. More of a small compound than a house, while it hardly touched the size of the Hyuga compound it out sized the Yamanka one by an extra floor.

"I live across the street is you require anything in particular." The older woman said. "The house rules are on the kitchen counter, just simple things that should be common sense."

"Of course. We'll make sure to keep the house in the condition it's in." Iruka told her as the rest of the group slowly filed in, leaving him on the porch with Kaede.

She nodded. "Good. You're free to come and go whenever you like of course, just be mindful of your neighbors – they're on vacation as well."

"Oh, and one more thing. There is a festival this week. Do come out and enjoy it at least one night. The village is very proud of it." Kaede left Iruka then, no good-bye and with her small dog still at her feet she crossed the street and into a almost matching house.

"Wow!" Tenten exclaimed, dropping her pack on the living room floor next to everyone else's. "This place is gorgeous!"

Iruka nodded. "Why don't we go unpack and then get some food, it's been a few hours."

"We passed quite a few restaurants on the way to the house." Gai mentioned, picking his pack back up along with Sakura's before she had a chance to reach for it. He started towards the stairs with Sakura right at his heels, mumbling about how she was fully capable of carrying her own things even though it was nice of him. Gai only laughed in response.

Tenten started towards the stairs as well, stopping to look over her shoulder when she noticed no one else was following. "Well? What are you waiting for? You're going to get stuck with the shitty rooms!" She told them in a singsong tone and quickly trotted up the stairs after Sakura and Gai.

When Tenten made it to the second landing she found Gai had claimed them first room on the right and Sakura had taken the last one of the left. Deciding to leave the last rooms on that floor to someone else, Tenten ventured up to the third floor, slowly making her way down the halls, peaking into each open door. The rooms were almost all identical except for the views and the way the furniture was set up.

Footsteps behind her alerted her to who would probably be her new floor mates for the rest of the week.

"I need a bath before we go get food." Ino grumbled, dropping her load unceremoniously onto the floor of the closest room, deeming it her's. Tenten jacked the room next to her's quickly as Iruka and Asuma looked for their own.

Tenten agreed, "I think I need a nap before food."

Iruka laughed. "I'm sure we have plenty of time before we get something to eat."

"Just unpack and then we can all decide what to do from there." Asuma grunted, internally agreeing with Tenten about needing a nap. He could also do with another pack of cigarettes but he could hold himself over until after dinner probably. If he didn't go crazy by then with the sheer ridiculousness of the whole situation. He really shouldn't have signed that contract. "Too late now..."

Ino turned in her doorway and narrowed her eyes. "What's too late?"

"Huh?" _Way to go, dumbass._ "Nothing, just forgot to do something back at home."

While it was a shady excuse at best it seemed to appease his blonde student for the time being. He was really going to have to watch his mouth from now on if he didn't want to fuck everything up. And he didn't because that would just lead to more trouble than it was probably worth. It would be worse later though when she did find out.

On the second floor Hinata chose the last room on the right, directly across from Sakura and looking out over the Koi pond. It was a lovely view, something was was very happy about. Neji and Kakashi had both been right, she did like it. Quite a bit.

Sakura didn't take much time settling into her new digs, making quick progress of unpacking her clothes and the likes and putting them into the closet. Luckily hangers had been provided for them along with a intricate kimono but Sakura wasn't sure if it had been provided by Miss Kaede or left by the last vacationer. Though she couldn't imagine someone not turning back around to retrieve such a nice garment.

Kakashi's room was two up from Sakura's, a diagonal straight shot to Hinata's which would be nice if he thought he would be going into her room at any point this week. He'd be lucky if she even spent any alone time with him – which would make it all easy but nothing is ever easy in Kakashi's case. "I'm just going to have to manipulate the situation..."

He sat down on his vacation bed, a little too soft for his taste but it would do and stared out his open door at Hinata's closed one. The best plan of action would be to come up with situations that involved just them. Like asking her to go out on a walk with him or something tedious like that. At least until he got a better sense of her. Was this his divine punishment for all the one night stands he never cared to learn the named of?

"Probably."

"Probably what, my dear rival?" Gai asked (more liked yelled but there was really no difference when it came to Gai), suddenly appearing in Kakashi's door frame.

"Divine punishment." Was all Kakashi offered him before picking up his book and walking out of the room around Gai and back downstairs. They did have a list of rules to review. Kaede had assured them the rules were all common sense stuff but Kakashi wasn't so sure. Kaede struck him as the kind of woman who didn't allow a hint of tom foolery in her establishments.

The kitchen was a spacious room with very new equipment and a poorly stocked fridge. They'd have to make a trip to the market if they didn't want to eat out for every meal. Which Kakashi hoped the girls didn't because paid vacation didn't mean limitless cash – he knew the girls knew this but whether any of them listened was another thing.

"Anything good?" Gai asked behind him, peaking in over his shoulder with ease do to his height.

Kakashi shook his head and closed the refrigerator door. "Someone is going to have to go to the market."

Hinata walked in at that moment, dressed in a simple white t-shirt, denim shorts, her sandals and her usual sweater tied around her waist. She hadn't wasted anytime changing into something more suited for the weather and situation and neither had Sakura who followed right after her in a tank top and jeans.

"I can go if you'd like?" Hinata asked and Kakshi realized that was his opening. The only one he was going to get this trip. If he didn't take this and succeed with planting a tiny seed of the situation in her head he wasn't sure he'd be able to any other time.

So Kakashi nodded. "I'll come with you."

 **Words – 1,568**

 **Total – 8,390**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry about not updating yesterday but I was busy as well as trying to make this chapter longer by pushing two updates into one. So this is where you all come in. Do you want shorter chapters with updates everyday or longer chapters with updates every other day? Did my best to work in interaction with all the couples and tried to start the wooing with all the couples.**

"Oh, pick me up some chocolate!" Ino piped up, popping up in the doorway next to Sakura. Like Sakura and Hinata she had changed into civilian clothes and had her hair down with her bangs pinned back. Kakashi had to admit it was weird seeing both of her eyes at the same time. "The good kind with nuts in it."

"We'll see," Kakashi said as he maneuvered around the two girls in the doorway. He turned towards Hinata. "I'm going to change and then we can go."

Hinata nodded.

Iruka peered into the open door of Tenten's room, watching as she thoughtlessly tossed everything about, creating a reasonably sized mess. "Do you need help unpacking?"

She turned quickly on her heel and found him already in her room, looking partially amused and partially concerned. Tenten shook her head. "Not really." She tossed a tshirt to the dresser. "I'm just making it looked lived in."

"And making a mess makes it lived in?" Iruka teased, ducking as she tossed a shoe his way with no real force.

Tenten nodded. "Messes are a sign of a life well lived."

Iruka caught the next thrown object, a bundle of wrapping. "Where did you learn that? Gai? Certainly not me."

Tenten laugh and knocked the empty bag off her bed, flopping backwards onto it. She faced him and patted the bed in invitation. "Nah. Some lady on a mission from my genin days."

Setting her wrapping on the desk by the door, Iruka slowly walked and sat down on the edge of the bed, making sure there was ample space between them. It felt so wrong to be in her space like he was. It wasn't his place but he was going to have to let it be at some point. "You make it sound like that was so long ago!"

"It was!" Tenten exclaimed. "Or at least it feels like it."

"Often in a shinobi's lifetime we mistake time as passing by so quickly because we are often in fear of missing out on things." Iruka commented. "Or so I've witnessed." He did spend the majority of her time teaching in the academy and not on the field.

Tenten nodded and hauled herself into the sitting position. "I love being a ninja, it's exhilarating and exciting but something... it just feels like we're risking a life we don't even have."

"That's oddly morose of you." He said but still he offered her a small smile because he did agree and patted her knee lightly twice. But no matter how morose it sounded, Iruka knew Tenten was just thinking about every shinobi her age was thinking. It is at her age when you come to realize just how romantically and emotionally lonely a shinobi's life becomes. "You're young still and strong enough to keep yourself alive to have a life."

"Your words of wisdom never seem to fail, Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka laughed and stood up. "Not wisdom. Just faith in my students." and a little wisdom but now probably wasn't time to boost his own ego. "Let's go see about those rules that Kaede left us."

"Oh my god, sensei. You can't just smoke in someone else's house!" Ino exclaimed, jumping up to snatch the cigarette out of Asuma's mouth. He didn't have it lit but Ino knew him and how he worked in habits – which included having a cigarette lounging in his mouth for a little while before lighting it. She didn't trust that he wouldn't. He always did.

Asuma turned his head out of her reach and took a step back. "I wasn't going to light it."

Ino stood back and smirked. "Sure you weren't. Why is your lighter in your hand then?"

Asuma narrowed his eyes.

"That's what I though." The blond laughed and thoughtlessly tossed her hair over her shoulder in her usual fashion. "Come on, we're going outside. You can smoke and I can scope out the hot guys."

He followed her outside, lighting the cigarette once the cooling spring air touched his skin. He chose not to comment on her "scoping out the hot guys" comment and instead just chose to follow beside her as she walked the opposite way then the market where Kakashi and Hinata were.

"You've been weirdly quiet this whole trip, sensei." Ino commented, looking up at him as they walked passed a group of middle aged women. It was weird that Asuma wasn't really talking to anyone besides himself. He wasn't like that – not usually.

Asuma side stepped a small child running passed and sighed. "Got some stuff on my mind."

"Then tell me about it. I'm good at listening." She was good at talking too but she was even better at listening because that was what she was trained to do. Listening was the easy part – it was the understanding and offering empathy that seemed to be her particular downfall in most situations. Ino wasn't the best at empathy.

"It's adult stuff," Not really. "You wouldn't be interested in it." Yes, she would. He had a moral obligation to protect her from stuff like this. From the gross reality that shinobi were just pawns in the game of life. The rooks who were moved all over the board as sacrifices to protect the king.

Ino rolled her eyes.

"I'm interested in a lot of things, sensei."

He sighed again but continued looking straight ahead. "Stop calling me sensei." He couldn't very well enjoy a relationship while being reminded he was her teacher, could he? He wasn't going to enjoy it anyway but that didn't matter.

"Excuse me?" Ino stopped immediately, staring at his back incredulously. "You're my teacher. I'm suppose to call you that. Unless I was brought out here to be kicked off the team." She was talking to her teeth. Asuma groaned, he should have worded that differently.

"It's not like that, Ino."

"Then what is it like, Ah-su-ma?" Ino growled out each syllable in his name, threatening him to give her a bullshit excuse. This was why it had to be him and not one of the others, she wouldn't have had an emotional response to anyone else. Her eyes narrowed dangerously and he stepped closer.

They were face to face with only a cigarette between his fingers between them. Asuma huffed. "If you keep calling me sensei, I can't do this."

"Do wha-" Her indignation was cut short by him pressing his lips against her's lightly. It lasted only a few seconds, long enough for her to get the message before they were separated again and Asuma stood a few feet away from her, looking away.

Sakura sat on the back porch, leaning back on her arms and staring out into the open blue sky above her. The village was beautiful and statuesque – the kind of place that seemed untouched by the burning world around it. She hoped it survived whatever was brewing outside of its walls.

She still couldn't wrap her head around Tsunade's decision to send them all on vacation suddenly. And for a week away from the village none the less. None of them had even been briefed – it made no sense. She and Kakashi were suppose to be out looking for Sasuke with Naruto and Sai. They were suppose to be trying to get their team back together but instead Kakashi was at the market and she was on the back porch.

Sakura scowled. It didn't make an ounce of sense.

"What's the matter?" Gai asked, looking over from where he was reading on the steps. He had followed her out after scanning the book shelf in the office for something to read. What he found was a narrative account of a war fought way before his time. Gai could recall his father reading similar material in his down time.

Sakura shrugged. "Nothing important. I just really don't get why we're on vacation without having been given notice. Doesn't that seem strange to you?" Then again Gai-sensei had been oddly subdued the whole trip so maybe that was what was actually strange. Tenten had told her before that Gai was surprisingly subdued when not amped up by training or missions or with Lee. So while it wasn't weird to Tenten it was weird to her and probably everyone else.

"I'm sure it was just spur of the moment." He said, giving her a bright smile. "But are you really complaining about paid vacation? You may never have one of these again."

"You're saying I should stop over thinking and enjoy it?" Gai nodded. "Fine. You win. There is no point in complaining about vacation when you're on vacation."

Gai laughed. "You make it sound like a prison sentence."

"I do not!"

"You really do." Standing up, Gai held out a hand and helped Sakura to her feet. "Though thats neither here nor there... We should probably get around for dinner. Kakashi and Hinata will be back from the market soon."

Sakura followed Gai back in, closing the door soundly behind her as they went. They trotted up the stairs and she watched as he closed his bedroom door before she moved onto her own. It was still a weird situation, no matter how unbothered by it Gai was. She couldn't help that her attention was always on bringing Sasuke home – it was the most important aspect of her life right then. He was her team mate, her first love... an incredibly important person in her life. Sakura couldn't just pretend it was alright to be lounging around while he was ruining his chance of being accepted back into Konoha.

Hinata loved shopping at open air markets. They were a comfort that she didn't get to experience much with the branch family doing the grocery shopping. The interactions she experienced while in the market place were much more interesting than those she had with branch members after their trip. She was allowed to go every once in a while if she got to it first but it was a rarity. Something indulgent even though it wasn't proper work for head's eldest daughter.

Kakashi held the basket as she scoured the stalls, picking up random things himself like Ino's fancy ass chocolate bar and other nick nacks that Hinata would accidentally walk passed in her euphoria. He didn't really understand her excitement with grocery shopping, he wasn't a particular fan of it himself, and he couldn't really name someone else that enjoyed it either. He supposed it was one of her special quirks. Like being able to speak without stuttering when she wasn't being rushed by someone to get on with the conversation.

"Is there anything in particular that we need?" She asked, stopping in front of the apples. She lightly stroked the bright red skin, feeling for any bruises, bumps or other impurities that could be considered damage. Hinata was very thorough in her produce searches.

"I don't think so. We've got quite a bit to hold us over for the next few days and that's if we only eat at the house." Kakashi didn't see them having to shop more than once more on the trip, there were so many places to eat out in the village that boasted affordable prices. And really, who makes their own food while on vacation?

Hinata agreed and chose 6 apples that fit her standards. There wasn't enough for each house mate to have one but she had also chosen enough of other fruits to hopefully appease everyone. Kakashi picked most the things that didn't have to be touched to decide its worth – choosing meats and whatever else they both decided would work.

"I should have made a list..." Hinata mumbled to herself, gently placing the apples into the basket. "I didn't even think to ask what anyone else wanted."

"It's food. If they don't like it there are enough places for them to eat elsewhere." Kakashi said, tossing a small bag of rice into the basket as they walked passed the isle. He was pretty sure he had seen a bag of uncooked rice next to their rules list but he wasn't sure how long it had been there. "Besides, you've chosen out quite an array of different foods. There has to be something here they'll eat."

"Uh... okay. If you say so." She didn't sound particularly sure of herself but continued towards the check out, ringing her hands together.

"It's fine, Hinata. No one is going to get mad about food." None of them had to right to be picky – except maybe Ino since she was the only one who told them what she wanted. Of course then she would have to bitch at him because he chose her damn chocolate bar, not Hinata.

Finally she made a small noise and nodded. "Thank you for helping me with the shopping, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi smiled and placed their food on the counter while Hinata moved up to pay. They had made a plan to split the bill on their way to the market and just before the apples he had given her his half of the pay. It was oddly domestic and the larger part of him didn't really like it. Kakashi wasn't made for domesticity – he was meant for one night stands and months long missions. Not dating young girls with doe eyes and a fear of upsetting everyone.

"Sensei?" He looked up from the empty basket to the four bags and Hinata. "Ready?"

"Yeah. Here, let me get those." In the end she only let him have two, her stubborn backbone only made an appearance when something made itself appear unfair. It was kind of cute in a way. Kakashi looked away as they walked side by side back to the house.

He wasn't meant to do cute either. His type was like Anko, he had fucked her so many times he lost count. It was a no strings attached agreement. Kakashi momentarily entertained the thought of what Anko would say when he formed a relationship with Hinata. None of her other fuck buddies were in relationships so it was an imaginary thought until it came up in reality at some point.

Their walk was a silent adventure, Hinata was too busy people watching to really hold a conversation anyway. But the silence wasn't going to help Kakashi – at least it wasn't going to plant the seed of affection at any point. He knew he was the be gentle, beat around the bush and to not speak too loudl, he didn't want to scare her off.

"Hinata." He called her out of her world inside her head.

Hinata stopped walking and turned her head, surprised that she had walked so far ahead of him. She trotted back a few steps to be next to him. "Sorry."

"That's fine." He shifted both bags into one arm. "Let's go this way. Might as well explore while we're out." He placed a hand delicately between her shoulders blades, leading her gently in a different way. And she let him, didn't shake off his hand or side step.

Kakashi decided then that maybe Hinata wasn't as skittish as he had been led to believe.

"This village is beautiful." She commented in that soft way that she said everything else. Her arms wrapped around the grocery bags she held at her chest.

Kakashi agreed but really wondered just how far he could go in the first round. He didn't want to scare her – the complete opposite – but he didn't want to treat her like a breakable either. She could take care of herself, shrug off his hand if she didn't like it.

Hesitantly he slid his hand from between her shoulder blades and up her shoulder, resting his wrist there lazily and watching her out of the corner of his eye. She stiffened that he knew she would do but to her credit she didn't shrug him off. No, instead she relaxed and pointed out a bakery that smelled quite nicely.

"Why did you do that?" Her voice was abnormally quiet, her fingers touching her lips lightly as if she wasn't sure it had happened at all. Asuma didn't answer her, instead choosing to look elsewhere. He was breaking down a very well crafted wall of hers. "Sensei?"

He groaned. "I told you to stop calling me that."

"Why? So you can kiss me?!" Ino's voice was bordering on shrill, raising a few octaves.

"No!" Asume barked back. "So that you understand what it meant." It hadn't meant much of anything. It hadn't been full of love... just self resentment.

Her eyes widened and she glared, crossing her arms tightly under her chest. "You don't get to do that."

"I know." God did he know. He moved too fast, broke that wall before it had even cracked. Asuma wanted nothing more than to hold her then, apologize for his moving too fast and being a horrible human being for signing that document.

"Ugh!" Ino stomped her foot in an attempt to figure things out. "Who even are you? Because Asuma sensei would never do that. Asuma sensei didn't spend time alone with me for a week when I kissed him last year."

That was because ignoring the situation was what a good teacher did.

"Kiss me again." She demanded, lifting her chin and taking a few steps defiantly closer. Asuma took a step back and she followed.

"What?" He had thought for sure that he had scared her off. Fixed the problem. Asuma couldn't quite believe his ears.

Ino was quick. Shooting her hands out, she grabbed onto his black t-shirt and pulled him as close as he had been earlier. "I said," Her hot and sweet breath was on his face. "kiss me again."

And so he did. With the kind of need that was necessary for telling her to turn back now. That she wasn't prepared for what exactly he had in store for her. Ino moved fast in life but Asuma... he moved faster. He didn't do wooing and beating around the bush. The cigarette fell to the ground as he placed that hand on the small of her back and the extra one on her cheek, arching her face closer to his.

He only stopped the kiss when her hands loosed on his shirt and he could feel her pulling away from him. He took a step back from her. Ino didn't follow.

"Asuma..." She mumbled, for once looking slightly unsure of herself.

He shook his head. "Don't. We've got all the time in the world. So don't start saying something that's pointless."

Ino, for once, listened and just nodded. The unsure look slowly washed off her face as she finally realized exactly what happened. He had kissed her. Twice. She did her best to hide her grin – this let her in on it. Asuma didn't do things like that to just do it. He thought things trough, had reason. Like Gai asking Sakura to dance. Like Kakashi going to the market with Hinata. Like Iruka looking at Tenten like he wasn't sure exactly what to do.

They could say anything the wanted but Ino knew now what was going on and why they weren't bothered by the random vacation. She eyed Asuma – she always knew he had the hots for her.

 **Words – 3,279**

 **Total – 11,669**


End file.
